This next article relates to the detection of the new novel coronovirus in Saudi Arabia.

This is a remarkeble article as it reveals the protocols that are put into play when a new virus is detected.

The process is thorough and far reaching and readers should take the time to read and appreciate the efforts and reasons behind them that work to detect the source, and possible contacts and how the spread of this or any new threat is as much as possible limited and confined.

The British HPA have to be congratulated at the speed that they acted with, not just in instigating all the above measures but also with the actual rapid sequencing that they undertook in record time.

If their standards could be replicated elsewhere around the world there is no doubt that we would suffer much less from these contaigens.

It is also excellent news that at this stage this novel coronovirus appears to be rare in terms of human infection and even with its H2H contaigen, but of concern remains the question of where the reservoir is for this deadly bug.

Clearly there will be a lot of effort being currently expended by some very brave specialists in their efforts to locate it and hopefully eliminate it before it does transmit into our general population.

Rapid communicationsThe United Kingdom Public Health response to an imported laboratory confirmed case of a novel coronavirus in September 2012--------------------------On [22 Sep 2012], a novel coronavirus, very closely related to that from a fatal case in Saudi Arabia 3 months previously, was detected in a previously well adult transferred to intensive care in London from Qatar with severe respiratory illness. Strict respiratory isolation was instituted. Ten days after last exposure, none of 64 close contacts had developed severe disease, with 13 of 64 reporting mild respiratory symptoms. The novel coronavirus was not detected in 10 of 10 symptomatic contacts tested.